On-going research and biography for Josef and Florian Josephu (brothers); Josef Josephu, a sculptor born in Vienna, January 12, 1899, emigrated to New York 1939, and died in New York 1970....and his brother, Florian Josephu-Drouot

Pages

The Brothers Josephu

Friday, December 21, 2012

Visited Steinway Hall today. One of Manhattan's hidden gems.
My personal connection; my grandfather, Josef Josephu, had his first US showing
of his sculptures here in February of 1940 - only 5 months after arriving from
Vienna. The NY Times review called him a modern-day Rodin. The staff were
friendly and accommodating allowing my to go behind the 'velvet rope' and
take many photos for the biography.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Thanks to friend Herbert Fischer, the above photo (circa World War I) was spotted in a November 2012 newsletter of "Penzinger Museumblatter". The statue behind these people is one by my grandfather, Josef. It stood in front of a veteran's hospital, or Kriegsspital, in A-1140 Vienna in the area of 'Linzer Strasse - Deutschordenstrasse-Cossman Gasse - Casino Park.' The hospital no longer exists and the whereabouts of the statue are unknown. During my visit, George and I spent much time trying to locate the spot - and thanks to this newsletter we know where it 'was'.....but, sadly, not where it 'is'.

Thanks to Dr. Wolfgang Regal and Dr. Guenther Haberhauer for their correspondence, and to Karl Kratky of the Bezirksmuseum Penzing for send a copy of the photo.

Links:

About this project:

I am the grandson and biographer of the artist, Josephu. I have been researching for over 15 years to create a biography of Josef and his brother Florian, to include journal of their works rich with photos. Special thanks to George Klein for his assistance, generosity and friendship, and to Herbert Fischer for his excellent research abilities and contributions.

If you own a Josephu piece, or know of one in a public venue, please contact me. Third party contributions will be most helpful and welcome, and will enable us to extend the base of works by Josephu. Email, please!!

I visited Vienna in 2011 in an effort to further my research, then - essentially - the biography will be complete. However, I view the work as an ongoing project and will ammend it as new information is uncovered. The printed biography will be tied into this blog, and possibly a video documentary.